Compare Rates Within Minutes!

Health coverage still pricier for women

Last week was Women's Health Week, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius advised women that they should let personal health take precedence in their life.

It hasn't always been easy for women to do that. Healthcare insurers often legally overcharged women for their coverage due to their sex, Sebelius said. Women were charged more expensive premiums, often weren't given coverage for treatment of breast cancer, and could be rejected for insurance if they were domestic violence victims.

The passage of the national healthcare reform law will provide needed changes for women's healthcare nationwide. "The new law will make landmark improvements to women's health security, banning insurance companies from discriminating based on gender, expanding coverage to people with pre-existing conditions, offering free coverage for preventive services, helping pregnant women and new mothers get the care they need, and prohibiting insurers from dropping women's coverage if they get sick," Secretary Sebelius said.

One of the services that won't be provided for women under the new healthcare law will be abortions. After much debate on both sides of the issue, the fight to include that coverage was given up in order to ensure the bill's passage, experts say.